Unease among people over bill to increase marriage age for women

Hyderabad: There is widespread unease among the parents with regard to the marriage of their daughters in the wake of a draft bill submitted in Lok Sabha for approval by the Central Government.

After objections to the bill by the opposition parties, the draft bill will be sent to a select committee. The select committee will review the objections and make amendments to the bill to resubmit to the Lok Sabha. Once the bill is approved in Lok Sabha it will be sent to the Rajya Sabha for approval to become law.

The legal experts say that if the Central Government is keen to have the bill approved, it will choose members from its allies parties along with some opposition members in the select committee to get the bill passed in the next parliamentary session.

Generally, all those bills which are sent to the select committee will take 3 to 4 months. The experts believe that the chances for the bill for women’s marriage to be submitted in the next Parliamentary session are quite low.

In view of the December end and Sankranti holidays, the possibility of the select committee holding its meeting is low.

The next parliamentary session will be held from January 29. The duration of the next parliamentary session is quite short. Hence the bill can only be submitted in the parliament’s summer session.

Due to the unease regarding the bill, some quarters are trying to take advantage of the situation. They are asking the parents to have the marriage document of their daughters prepared before the marriage bill becomes law.

Those parents whose daughters’ marriages are scheduled to be held in the next few months are also anxious. They too are trying to fill up the marriage documents before the marriage deadlines to escape the law.